College ministry buys building for its national headquarters

Peter DeMarais of St. Paul’s Outreach is a big fan of coffee shops, but he is cutting back significantly these days. A new building that the ministry bought and moved into last month means he no longer has to find space in local cafes to hold meetings. 

It’s the first time in the organization’s 36-year history that it owns a building. The 14,000-square-foot facility in Mendota Heights will serve as SPO’s national headquarters, featuring offices for staff members such as DeMarais, plus meeting rooms, a chapel, and an audio and video recording studio that will allow growth in digital media production. Total cost of the project is about $2 million, with funding from the ministry’s Faith Alive campaign, a national effort that has raised $16 million. 

“There’s something about a space that’s your own,” said DeMarais, regional director of Minnesota and son of SPO founder Gordy DeMarais. “This is a place where we can really establish and represent what we hope SPO to be for many, many years in this archdiocese and in this country.” 

The organization has grown steadily since its inception in 1985, ministering to college students and expanding to young adults up to age 30. There are SPO chapters and households in nine states, including the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul and the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. SPO has 170 full-time employees serving in Minnesota and other cities across the U.S. where the ministry has a presence. The new building will accommodate gatherings of staff members from Minnesota and elsewhere, and provide a place to hold training sessions for missionaries. 

“I’ll tell you, this building has absolutely transformed our culture,” Gordy DeMarais said. “We are thrilled. This is a tremendous gift, and it’s really going to advance our ability to reach more students and (young) adults.” 

“We feel like we’re entering into a new season in SPO,” he said. “We put together some core convictions that we have for this new season, and really focused on renewing our relationship with the Lord and our trust in him as the foundation of our work.” 

As SPO continues to expand its ministry, one key area of growth will be digital media, an area that became even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic, with students across the country adopting distance learning in 2020. SPO adapted, filming its annual national conference and streaming it online. 

“We think stepping more into the digital space with things like this, and developing digital content, producing digital content and sending that out is going to help us leverage our growth nationally,” Gordy DeMarais said. “If you’re going to reach this generation, this needs to be a place the organization has to invest in — putting quality stuff out there.” 

Yet, the foundation of SPO is and always will be fostering interpersonal interactions and building relationships. That helps college students connect with their faith during a time in life when many are abandoning their spiritual roots. It also helps them plot a lifelong pursuit of following God and being active in the Church. 

Peter DeMarais is an example. He lived in an SPO men’s household while attending the University of St. Thomas and was “surrounded by a set of guys who knew where they were going and were living their whole life around the Lord.” It was a new experience for him, and it led to his decision 10 years ago to work for SPO. Bishop Andrew Cozzens, who blessed the new building Oct. 14, also is an SPO alum. 

“I cannot believe that I am still in the mission work,” Peter DeMarais said. “It’s just an incredible gift every day to say this is still what God has called me to do.”